Lilyvale Bushfire Assessment for Planning Proposal
Transcription
Lilyvale Bushfire Assessment for Planning Proposal
Bushfire Assessment Lot 1 DP 335557 and Lot 1 DP 652830 Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Prepared for John Pollaers 26 September 2013 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale DOCUMENT TRACKING Item Detail Project Name Bushfire Assessment – Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Project Number 13SYPLA-0020 David Bonjer Project Manager 02 8536 8668 Level 6, 299 Sussex Street, Sydney NSW 2000 Prepared by Danielle Meggos Reviewed by Lew Short Approved by David Bonjer Status Final Version Number 4 Last saved on 26 September 2013 Cover photo Proposed tourist accommodation, 15 May 2013 by Danielle Meggos This report should be cited as ‘Eco Logical Australia 19 June 2013. Bushfire Assessment - Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale. Prepared for John Pollaers.’ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This document has been prepared by Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd Disclaimer This document may only be used for the purpose for which it was commissioned and in accordance with the contract between Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd and John Pollaers. The scope of services was defined in consultation with John Pollaers, by time and budgetary constraints imposed by the client, and the availability of reports and other data on the subject area. Changes to available information, legislation and schedules are made on an ongoing basis and readers should obtain up to date information. Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd accepts no liability or responsibility whatsoever for or in respect of any use of or reliance upon this report and its supporting material by any third party. Information provided is not intended to be a substitute for site specific assessment or legal advice in relation to any matter. Unauthorised use of this report in any form is prohibited. © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD i Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Contents 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 4 1.1 Location of site ............................................................................................................................. 4 1.2 Existing buildings .......................................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Planning proposal ......................................................................................................................... 5 2 Legislative context ..................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 EP&A Act ...................................................................................................................................... 9 3 Bushfire assessment ............................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Vegetation types and slope ........................................................................................................ 10 3.2 Asset protection zones ............................................................................................................... 10 4 APZ maintenance plan ............................................................................................................. 12 5 Construction ............................................................................................................................. 14 6 Water supply ............................................................................................................................. 14 7 Access ....................................................................................................................................... 14 8 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 17 References ............................................................................................................................................. 18 Appendix A............................................................................................................................................. 19 © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ii Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale List of figures Figure 1: Location ....................................................................................................................................... 4 Figure 2: Survey of subject land and location of existing buildings ............................................................ 6 Figure 3 Building A (existing dwelling) ....................................................................................................... 7 Figure 4 Building B (existing building to be used for function centre) ........................................................ 7 Figure 5 Building C (existing building to be used for tourist and visitor accommodation) .......................... 8 Figure 6: Bushfire threat assessment and asset protection zones .......................................................... 13 List of tables Table 1: Threat assessment and APZ for Building B ............................................................................... 11 Table 2: Threat assessment and APZ for Building C ............................................................................... 11 1 Table 3: Performance criteria for proposed property access roads * ..................................................... 16 © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD iii Planni ng Proposal Lil yval e Functi on Centre 1 Introduction Eco Logical Australia Pty Ltd (ELA) was engaged by John Pollaers to undertake an assessment of bushfire constraints at lot 1 DP 335557 and lot 1 DP 652830 , Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale (hereafter referred to as the subject land). The assessment was undertaken to assist in the preparation of a planning proposal to allow for a dwelling house, function centre and tourist and visitor accommodation to operate from existing buildings on the subject land. 1.1 Loc at i on of si t e The subject land is located in the northern most point of the Wollongong City Council Local Government Area within the Royal National Park and is 43 km north of Wollongong as shown in Figure 1. Subject site Figure 1: Location Source: Google Maps https://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl [18 June 2013] © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 4 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale 1.2 E xi st i ng bui ld ing s The subject land contains three existing buildings. These are shown in Figures 2 to 5. For the purposes of this bushfire assessment, ELA has assumed that: Building A is an existing dwelling whose use will not change Building B will be used as a function centre Building C will be used for tourist and visitor accommodation The buildings are generally located within managed vegetation with lawn and ornamental trees between them and fire hazard around the outer perimeter of the property. 1.3 Pl an nin g p ro pos a l The subject land is currently zoned E3 Environmental Management under Wollongong LEP 2009. Two planning proposals are relevant to the subject land: 1. Wollongong City Council have prepared a Planning Proposal to rezone most of the subject land (lot 1 DP 335557) to E2. Dwelling house, function centre and tourist and visitor accommodation (which includes bed and breakfast accommodation) will be prohibited. 2. Pollaers Planning proposal which would propose: (i) Amendment of the WLEP 2009 Land Zoning Map to include the site (both lots) in Zone E3 ‐ Environmental Management (dwelling house and bed and breakfast accommodation permitted with consent) (ii) Insertion of the following at the end of WLEP 2009, Schedule 1 ‐ Additional Permitted Uses: 24 Use of certain land at Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale (1) This clause applies to land on Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale, Lot 1, DP 335557 and Lot 1, DP 652830. (2) Development for the purposes of the following is permitted with consent: (a) function centre with a maximum gross floor area of 400m2 (b) tourist and visitor accommodation with a maximum gross floor area of 900m2. © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 5 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Figure 2: Survey of subject land and location of existing buildings © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 6 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Figure 3 Building A (existing dwelling) Figure 4 Building B (existing building to be used for function centre) © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 7 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Figure 5 Building C (existing building to be used for tourist and visitor accommodation) © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 8 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale 2 Legislative context 2.1 E P& A Ac t Section 117(2) of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 allows the Minister for Planning to issue directions that are to be followed in the preparation of planning proposals for new local environmental plans. This applies to LEPs that propose to rezone land. Direction 4.4 Planning for Bushfire Protection identifies matters for consideration for planning proposals that will affect, or are in proximity to land mapped as bush fire prone. In particular a planning proposal where development is proposed must: have regard to Planning for Bushfire Protection 2006, provide an Asset Protection Zone (APZ) incorporating at a minimum: o an Inner Protection Area bounded by a perimeter road or reserve which circumscribes the hazard side of the land intended for development and has a building line consistent with the incorporation of an APZ, within the property, and o an Outer Protection Area managed for hazard reduction and located on the bushland side of the perimeter road, for infill development (that is development within an already subdivided area), where an appropriate APZ cannot be achieved, provide for an appropriate performance standard, in consultation with the NSW Rural Fire Service. If the provisions of the planning proposal permit Special Fire Protection Purposes (as defined under section 100B of the Rural Fires Act 1997), the APZ provisions must be complied with, contain provisions for two-way access roads which links to perimeter roads and/or to fire trail networks, contain provisions for adequate water supply for firefighting purposes, minimise the perimeter of the area of land interfacing the hazard which may be developed, introduce controls on the placement of combustible materials in the Inner Protection Area Consideration must also be given to NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Practice Note 2/12 Planning Instruments and Policies. It is expected that the RFS, in its assessment of the proposal will consider the requirements of this Practice Note. The use of the buildings as a function centre and tourist and visitor accommodation would be subject to a Development Application. The function centre would be considered on its merits under section 79BA and 79C of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 whilst the tourist and visitor accommodation will be considered under section 100B of the Rural Fires Act 1997. Both uses will be required to comply with Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2006 (PBP). For Building B, PBP identifies that for Class 5 to 8 buildings under the Building Code of Australia (National Construction Code), there are no bushfire specific performance requirements. In these circumstances the aim and objectives of PBP are to be considered. Building C is considered a special fire protection purpose development and will be subject to the specific objectives of PBP for this type of development. © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 9 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale 3 Bushfire assessment The subject land is identified as bush fire prone on the Wollongong Bush Fire Prone Land Map. The following assessment is prepared in accordance with Direction 4.4 Planning for Bushfire Protection and addresses the requirements of Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2006, herein referred to as PBP. 3.1 V eg et at ion t yp es a nd s lop e In accordance with PBP the predominant vegetation class has been calculated for a distance of at least 140 m out from each of the buildings and the slope class ‘most significantly affecting fire behaviour’ has been determined for a distance of at least 100 m in all directions. The predominant vegetation and effective slope assessments are shown in Table 1 (p. 10). The bushfire hazard lies in all directions. The predominant vegetation is classified as ‘Forest’ in accordance with PBP. In accord with PBP the slope that would most significantly influence fire behaviour was determined over a distance of 100 m out from the boundary of the subject land. This assessment was made by analysing 2 m contour intervals and confirmed during a site inspection on 15 May 2013. The steepest vegetated slope occurs to the west and south west within the PBP slope class of ‘upslope’. 3.2 As s e t p rot e ct i on z on es PBP has been used to determine the width of required Asset Protection Zones (APZ) using the vegetation and slope data identified in Section 3.1. Table 1 demonstrates that compliance with PBP can be achieved. The NBC Bush Fire Attack Assessor V2.1 was used to model APZ for Building B (proposed function centre) and Building C (proposed tourist and visitor accommodation) to achieve a bushfire attack level (BAL) 12.5. Recent published research by Watson (2012) was used to inform the fuel characteristics pertaining to the subject site which were verified during the site inspection. Vegetation surrounding the subject site is a combination of Sydney Hinterland Dry Sclerophyll Forest and Wet Sclerophyll (shrubby sub formation). Surface fuel loads (near surface and surface) from Watson were combined with the nominal 10 t/ha identified in AS3959 to determine the overall fuel loads. The model reports are included in Appendix A. As can be seen in Figure 6, APZs for building C (proposed tourist and visitor accommodation) are within the ‘managed Area’. No further clearing is required other than on-going maintenance of this as an APZ (see section 4 of this report). APZs for Building C are partially provided by the ‘managed area’ however creation of an APZ to the west and south west of the building will be required. © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 10 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Table 1: Threat assessment and APZ for Building B DIRECTION FROM BUILDING SLOPE West and south west South 1 2 VEGETATION PBP REQUIRED 3 APZ PROPOSED 4 APZ 12 degree upslope Forest 20 metres 22 metres 2 degree downslope Forest 25 meters All other directions 43 metres COMMENT Additional clearing or thinning required to achieve proposed APZ. Managed lands Table 2: Threat assessment and APZ for Building C 1 DIRECTION FROM BUILDING SLOPE North west 12 degrees upslope East and north east 2 VEGETATION PBP REQUIRED 3 APZ 10kW 4 APZ Forest 60 metres 36 metres 21 degrees upslope All other directions Forest 60 metres 27 meters COMMENT APZ provided by existing managed lands and river Managed lands 1 Slope most significantly influencing the fire behaviour of the site having regard to vegetation found. 2 Predominant vegetation is identified, according to PBP and “Where a mix of vegetation types exist the type providing the greater hazard is said to be predominate”. 3 Assessment according to PBP 4 Assessment using NBC Attack Assessor © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 11 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale 4 APZ maintenance plan The proposed APZ for buildings B and C is partially in place by virtue of the ‘Managed Area’ shown on Figure 6. Additional thinning or clearing of 0.21 ha will be required to the west of building B to create an APZ. Fuel management within the APZ is to be as follows: Provide a tree canopy cover of less than 15% No tree or tree canopy is to occur within 2 m of the building roofline with lower limbs removed up to a height of 2 metres above the ground. The presence of a few shrubs or trees in the APZ is acceptable provided that they: o Are well spread out and do not form a continuous canopy o Are not species that retain dead material or deposit excessive quantities of ground fuel in a short period or in a danger period o Are located far enough away from the building so that they will not ignite the building by direct flame contact or radiant heat emission Any landscaping or plantings should preferably be local endemic mesic species or other low flammability species A minimal ground fuel is to be maintained to include less than 4 tonnes per hectare of fine fuel (fine fuel means ANY dead or living vegetation of <6 mm in diameter e.g. twigs less than a pencil in thickness. 4 t/ha is equivalent to a 1 cm thick layer of leaf litter) © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 12 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Figure 6: Bushfire threat assessment and asset protection zones © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 13 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale 5 Construction Construction measures will be considered in detail by the RFS at the DA stage. This section provides the measures likely to be required. As indicated, APZ for the building to be used as the function centre have been modelled to achieve BAL 12.5. APZ for the tourist and visitor accommodation have been modelled to achieve 10kW/m2 as required by PBP, resulting in BAL 12.5 under AS3959. The existing buildings will require upgrading commensurate with the intent of ember protection identified in BAL 12.5 of AS 3959. The following works would likely be recommended by the NSW Rural Fire Service as part of a development application to achieve this level of protection: 6 Openable windows to be screened with tight-fitting fly screens of aluminium, bronze or corrosion resistant steel mesh; External doors to be screened with tight-fitting fly screens of aluminium, bronze or corrosion resistant steel mesh; External doors to be fitted with draught excluders of have some other mechanism to prevent embers from entering the building underneath the door; Vents and weepholes (including subfloor space and roof void) are to be screened with aluminium, bronze or corrosion resistant steel mesh; and Openings where embers may enter the roof space such as the eaves or ridgelines (with the exception of tile spacings) are to be screened with aluminium, bronze or corrosion resistant steel mesh where practicable. Water supply Water supply requirements will be considered in detail by the RFS at the DA stage. This section provides the measures likely to be required. The proposed function centre and tourist and visitor accommodation are not serviced by reticulated water. PBP requires that both buildings be provided with a minimum 10,000 L static water supply for fire fighting purposes. The subject land is serviced by an existing ring main system that is feed from a 20,000L water tank. To ensure compliance, the existing water supply must be visible and readily accessible to fire fighting vehicles and a suitable connection for Rural Fire Service purposes must be made available (65 mm Storz fitting). The supply must be accessible to within 3 m by fire fighting appliances. This will be conditioned at the development application stage. The following is a list of additional requirements to adequately protect the property: 7 Hose lengths should be available to reach the extremities of the buildings. Canvas or rubber hoses are preferred over plastic A minimum 3 kW (5 Hp) petrol or diesel driven fire fighting pump system is required that may be connected to the dedicated static water supply indicated above. Access The subject land is accessed by an existing unsealed road off Lady Wakehurst Drive. This access road will require upgrading to the specifications of Section 4.1.3 (2) of PBP at the development application © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 14 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale stage. These requirements are identified in Table 3. Access roads within the subject site provide suitable access for fire fighting vehicles. © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 15 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Table 3: Performance criteria for proposed property access roads * The intent may be achieved where: access to properties is 1 Acceptable Solutions provided in recognition of at least one alternative property access road is provided for individual dwelling (or groups of dwellings) that are located more than 200 metres from a public through road the risk to fire fighters and / or evacuating occupants the capacity of road surfaces and bridges is sufficient to carry fully loaded bridges clearly indicate load rating and pavements and bridges are capable of carrying a load of 15 tonnes firefighting roads do not traverse a wetland or other land potentially subject to periodic inundation (other than a flood or storm surge) vehicles all weather access is provided road widths and design a minimum carriageway width of four metres for rural-residential areas, rural enable safe access for landholdings or urban areas with a distance of greater than 70 metres from the vehicles nearest hydrant point to the most external part of a proposed building (or footprint) Note: No specific access requirements apply in a urban area where a 70 metres unobstructed path can be demonstrated between the most distant external part of the proposed dwelling and the nearest part of the public access road (where the road speed limit is not greater than 70kph) that supports the operational use of emergency firefighting vehicles (i.e. a hydrant or water supply. in forest, woodland and heath situations, rural property access roads have passing bays every 200 metres that are 20 metres long by two metres wide, making a minimum trafficable width of six metres at the passing bay a minimum vertical clearance of four metres to any overhanging obstructions, including tree branches internal roads for rural properties provide a loop road around any dwelling or incorporate a turning circle with a minimum 12 metre outer radius curves have a minimum inner radius of six metres and are minimal in number to allow for rapid access and egress the minimum distance between inner and outer curves is six metres the crossfall is not more than 10 degrees maximum grades for sealed roads do not exceed 15 degrees and not more than 10 degrees for unsealed roads Note: Some short constrictions in the access may be accepted where they are not less than the minimum (3.5m), extend for no more than 30m and where the obstruction cannot be reasonably avoided or removed. The gradients applicable to public roads also apply to community style development property access roads in addition to the above access to a development comprising more than three dwellings have formalised access by dedication of a road and not by right of way *1 PBP page 23 © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 16 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale 8 Conclusion In the author’s professional opinion the proposal to allow for the use of the subject land for a function centre and tourist and visitor accommodation is capable of meeting Direction 4.4 Planning for Bushfire Protection, the requirements of Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2006 and Practice Note 2/12 Planning Instruments and Policies. In regards to Direction 4.4 the proposal: Complies with the aim and objectives of Planning for Bushfire Protection 2006, Provides a compliant APZ, Contains provisions for two-way access roads which links to perimeter roads and/or to fire trail networks, and Contains provisions for adequate water supply for firefighting purposes, The proposed uses are compatible with the level of risk posed to the development and achieves the following objectives of Practice Note 2/12: Does not increase the risk to life from bushfire, Does not introduce controls that place inappropriate developments in areas exposed to unacceptable bushfire hazard, Ensures that appropriate bushfire protection measures can be afforded to property at risk of bushfire, Minimises negative impacts on the surrounding environment, Ensures that provision is made for adequate evacuation/shelter options for the community, and Ensures that development is capable of complying with Planning for Bush Fire Protection 2006. Danielle Meggos Bushfire and Resilience Planner © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 17 Planni ng Proposal – Lil yval e Functi on C entre References NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS). 2006. Planning for Bush Fire Protection: A Guide for Councils, Planners, Fire Authorities, Developers and Home Owners including the 2010 Appendix 3 Addendum. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra. Standards Australia. 2009. Construction of buildings in bushfire-prone areas, AS 3959-2009. SAI Global, Sydney Watson P (2012) Fuel load dynamics in NSW vegetation. Part 1: Forests and grassy woodlands. Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires, University of Wollongong. © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 18 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Appendix A A1 Bus hf i r e At t ac k M ode ll ing © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 19 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Danielle Meggos, Eco Logical Australia © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 20 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 21 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 22 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale Danielle Meggos, Eco Logical Australia © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 23 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA PTY LTD 24 Bushfire Assessment, Lady Wakehurst Drive, Lilyvale HEAD OFFICE SYDNEY ST GEORGES BASIN Suite 4, Level 1 2-4 Merton Street Sutherland NSW 2232 T 02 8536 8600 F 02 9542 5622 Level 6 299 Sussex Street Sydney NSW 2000 T 02 8536 8650 F 02 9264 0717 8/128 Island Point Road St Georges Basin NSW 2540 T 02 4443 5555 F 02 4443 6655 CANBERRA NEWCASTLE NAROOMA Level 2 11 London Circuit Canberra ACT 2601 T 02 6103 0145 F 02 6103 0148 Suites 28 & 29, Level 7 19 Bolton Street Newcastle NSW 2300 T 02 4910 0125 F 02 4910 0126 5/20 Canty Street Narooma NSW 2546 T 02 4476 1151 F 02 4476 1161 COFFS HARBOUR 35 Orlando Street Coffs Harbour Jetty NSW 2450 T 02 6651 5484 F 02 6651 6890 ARMIDALE MUDGEE 92 Taylor Street Armidale NSW 2350 T 02 8081 2681 F 02 6772 1279 Unit 1, Level 1 79 Market Street Mudgee NSW 2850 T 02 4302 1230 F 02 6372 9230 PERTH Suite 1 & 2 49 Ord Street West Perth WA 6005 T 08 9227 1070 F 08 9322 1358 WOLLONGONG Suite 204, Level 2 62 Moore Street Austinmer NSW 2515 T 02 4201 2200 F 02 4268 4361 GOSFORD Suite 5, Baker One 1-5 Baker Street Gosford NSW 2250 T 02 4302 1220 F 02 4322 2897 BRISBANE PO Box 1422 Fortitude Valley QLD 4006 T 07 3503 7193 1300 646 131 www.ecoaus.com.au DARWIN © ECO LOGICAL AUSTRALIA 16/56 Marina Boulevard Cullen Bay NT 0820 T 08 8989 5601 PTY LTD 25